4 NY Giants-Cowboys memories fans will never forget
By Zak Musso
The New York Giants-Dallas Cowboys rivalry is the most hateful, brutal, and physical one in all of football. The fanbases have disdain for each other, the players have disdain for each other, and the owners have disdain for each other. In order to get to the playoffs, the Giants and Cowboys have to go through one another each season.
While the Cowboys have won more games than the Giants over the last 15 years, the G-Men have the only two wins that really matter, Super Bowl XLII and Super Bowl XLVI. Some of the heat in the Giants and Cowboys rivalry has died down thanks to the recent struggles of both franchises, but there have been some epic battles over the years.
The rivalry produced hateful battles in the 1990s and nobody will forget the 2000s and 2010s when Eli Manning dominated Tony Romo. No Giants fan will ever forget when Manning signed the locker room wall in 2009 after the Giants won the first ever game at Jerry’s World. One of the rivalries strangest memories was the last Monday night the two squared off at MetLife Stadium, as a black cat famously ran on the field, which could serve as the perfect metaphor to illustrate the Dallas Cowboys franchise.
The juice of the Cowboys\Giants rivalry has returned this week, as the Giants 2-0 hot start has New York City buzzing. With two important games to be played between the two franchises, Monday night’s “white out” game, and again on Thanksgiving afternoon, you can bet the two storied franchises will add another chapter to their long lasting rivalry. Before, they add another chapter to the rivalry books, let’s revisit some of the rivalries best moments. Here are four Giants-Cowboys memories fans will never forget.
4. Victor Cruz’s game-winning touchdown
With the Giants trailing the Cowboys 19-13 in the 2016 season-opener, Manning led the Giants on a nine-play, 54-yard touchdown drive that lasted 3:59 seconds. Manning threw a big 20-yard completion to then rookie Sterling Shepard to start the drive, and capped it off by throwing a touchdown to Giants legend Victor Cruz, Cruz’s first touchdown since 2014.
The touchdown was the game-wining score for the G-Men, as they spoiled Dak Prescott’s debut and handed Ben McAdoo a win in his first game as Giants head coach.
The touchdown by Cruz enabled him to bust out his patented salsa dance for the first time in two years. While Cruz had two very famous touchdowns in his career, the 99-yard touchdown against the New York Jets on Christmas Eve 2011 and the first quarter touchdown in Super XLVI, his touchdown in Dallas, known as the return of the Salsa, was his most memorable.
The Giants 2016 season battles with the Dallas Cowboys were quite memorable. After losing the season opener to the Giants, led by star rookies Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott, Dallas won 11 straight games, before the Giants took them down for a second time, 10-7 on a December Sunday night. Odell Beckham Jr. caught a 61-yard touchdown to win the game for Big Blue.
Dallas quite memorably had the NFL’s best record at 13-3 in 2016, and were 13-2 in games that Prescott started, with his only two losses coming against the Giants. Dallas flamed out as per usual in their first playoff game against Green Bay, thanks to Aaron Rodgers jaw-dropping throw to Jared Cook.